Cisco MDS SanOS Troubleshooting Guide -- Troubleshooting Licensing

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This section describes how to manage the issues with licensing. Licensing functionality is available in all switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family. This functionality allows you to access specified premium features on the switch after you install the appropriate license for that feature. Licenses are supported, and enforced in Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 1.3(1) and later.

License Overview

Cisco SAN-OS requires licenses for advanced features. These licenses have two options:

Feature-based licensing—Features that are applicable to the entire switch. You need to purchase and install a license for each switch that uses the features you are interested in. The Enterprise license is an example of a feature-based license.

Module-based licensing—Features that require additional hardware modules. You need to purchase and install a license for each module that uses the features you are interested in. The SAN Extension over IP license is an example of a module-based license.

Note:

The Cisco MDS 9216i switch enables SAN Extension features on the two fixed IP services ports only. The features enabled on these ports are identical to the features enabled by the SAN Extension over IP license on the14/2-port Multiprotocol Services (MPS-14/2) module. If you install a module with IP ports in the empty slot on the Cisco MDS 9216i, a separate SAN Extension over IP license is required to enable related features on the IP ports of the additional module.

Chassis Serial Numbers

Licenses are created using the serial number of the chassis where the license file is to be installed. Once you order a license based on a chassis serial number, you cannot use this license on any other switch. If you use a license meant for another chassis, you may see the following system message:

Explanation The feature has a license with an invalid license Host ID. This can happen if a supervisor module with licensed features for one switch is installed on another switch.

Recommended Action Reinstall the correct license for the chassis where the supervisor module is installed.

Grace Period

If you use a feature that requires a license but have not installed a license for that feature, you are given a 120 day grace period to evaluate the feature. You must purchase and install the number of licenses required for that feature before the grace period ends or Cisco SAN-OS will disable the feature at the end of the grace period. If you try to use an unlicensed feature, you may see the following system messages:

Explanation The Application [chars1] has not been licensed. The application will work for a grace period of [dec] days after which it will be shut down unless a license file for the feature is installed.

Explanation The application will exceed its evaluation time period in the listed number of days and will be shut down unless a permanent license for the feature is installed.

Recommended Action Install the license file to continue using the feature.

License packages can contain several features.If you disable a feature during the grace period and there are other features in that license package that are still enabled, the clock does not stop for that license package. To suspend the grace period countdown for a licensed feature, you must disable every feature in that license package. Choose Switches > Licenses and select the Usage tab in Fabric Manager or use the show license usage CLI command to determine which features are enabled for a license package.

Initial Troubleshooting Checklist

Begin troubleshooting license issues by checking the following issues first:

Checklist

Checkoff

Verify the chassis serial number for all licenses ordered.

Verify the platform or module type for all licenses ordered.

Verify that the Product Authorization Key you used to order the licenses comes from the same chassis that you retrieved the chassis serial number on.

Verify that you have installed all licenses on all switches that require the licenses for the features you enable.

Displaying License Information Using Fabric Manager

To view license information using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

1. Select Switches > Licenses from the Physical Attributes pane. You see the license information in the Information pane, one line per feature.

2. Click the Feature Usage tab to see the switch, name of the feature package, the type of license installed, the number of licenses used (Installed Count), the expiration date, the grace period (if you do not have a license for a particular feature), and any errors (for example, if you have a missing license). Click the Keys tab to display information about each of the License Key files installed on your switches.

3. Click the Usage tab to see the applications using the feature package on each switch. Use this tab to determine which applications depend on each license you have installed.

Displaying License Information Using Device Manager

To view license information using Device Manager, follow these steps:

1. Click Admin > Licenses from the menu. You see the License dialog box.

2. Click the Features tab to see the license information, including the feature package, the type of license, expiration date and grace period (if any), and any errors (such as a missing license). Click the Files tab to display information about each License Key file installed on the switch.

3. Click the Usage tab to see the applications using the feature package on each switch. Use this tab to determine which applications depend on each license that you have installed.

Displaying License Information Using Fabric Manager Web Client

Fabric Manager Release 2.1(2) or later supports viewing license use across the fabric from Fabric Manager Web Client. This view summarizes the licenses used on all switches in the fabric.

Licensing Installation Issues

Common problems with licenses usually stem from incorrectly ordering the license file, installing the license file on an incorrect switch, or not ordering the correct number of licenses for your fabric.

Edit <install directory>/bin/FabricManager.bat file to add the following lines to the JVMargs argument:

-Dhttp.proxyHost=HOSTADDRESS -Dhttp.proxyPort=HOSTPORT.

Fabric Manager communicating through a proxy server.

Edit <install directory>/bin/FabricManager.bat file to add the following lines to the JVMargs argument:

-Dhttps.proxyHost=HOSTADDRESS -Dhttps.proxyPort=HOSTPORT.

Java versions 1.4.2_01 and later do not have the right set of Certificate Authority (CA) certificates to validate the SSL certificates on the EMC server (HTTPS).

The license wizard cannot make an HTTPS connection to the EMC servers. If the License Wizard fails to fetch the license keys, saying the connection failed, the workaround is to install the latest 1.4(x) version of Java, preferably 1.4.2_04 or later.

Serial Number Issues

A common problem with licenses stems from not using the correct chassis serial number when ordering your license.
To obtain the correct chassis serial number using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

1. Choose Switches > Hardware and select the Inventory tab.

2. Copy down the SerialNo Primary field for the chassis that matches where you want to install a new license.

Note:

If you are ordering a module-based license, such as the SAN Extension over IP license package, you still use the chassis serial number for the chassis where the module resides, not the module serial number.

Use the show license host-id CLI command to obtain the correct chassis serial number for your switch using the CLI.
When entering the chassis serial number during the license ordering process, do not use the letter "O" in place of any zeros in the serial number.

RMA Chassis Errors or License Transfers Between Switches

A license is specific to the switch for which it is issued and is not valid on any other switch. If you need to transfer a license from one switch to another, contact your customer service representative.

Receiving Grace Period Warnings After License Installation

If the license installation does not proceed correctly, or if you are using a feature that exists in a license package that you have not installed, you will continue to get grace period warnings.

Symptom Receiving grace period warnings after a license installation.

Table 6-2 Receiving Grace Period Warnings After License Installation

Symptom

Possible Cause

Solution

Receiving grace period warnings after a license installation.

License file copied to switch but not installed.

Choose Tools > Other > License Install in Fabric Manager or use the license install CLI command to install the license.

License installation failed.

Check your logs for any system messages for a failed license installation. Choose Switches > Licenses and select the Usage tab in Fabric Manager or use the show license usage CLI command to determine what feature is in use without a license.

Not enough license files installed for a feature.

Some features require more than one license per chassis. Module-based licenses such as SAN Extension over IP for example requires one license per module that uses these features. Choose Switches > Licenses and select the Usage tab in Fabric Manager or use the show license usage CLI command to determine which feature is in use without a license.

Incorrect Number of Licenses in Use for Multiple Modules

Module-based licenses require one license installed per module that uses a licensed feature. SAN Extension over IP is an example of a module based license. Installing a SAN Extension over IP license while two FCIP instances from different modules are present, may cause the system to return the following error message:

Installing license failed: Number of License in use is more than the number being
installed.

This error message is generated because the license grace period is only applicable when no licenses are installed. The installation of one license terminates the grace period and will arbitrarily cause the second module to shut down, because this is not allowed by licensing.

The workaround for this scenario includes doing one of the following:

Concatenate both licenses into one license file.

Manually reduce the usage count by one.

To concatenate both licenses into one license file, follow these steps: